How much do you know about your right cerebral hemisphere?

You’ve probably heard it’s the artistic side of your brain.

That’s true. The right hemisphere is responsible for abstract thought, music, artistic skill and several other things that we don’t know about.

The truth is, we know very little about how the right hemisphere works. It has its own rules about function and control. The left brain has set rules.

Regions for speech, movement, hearing, eyesight, etc.

But the right brain is more complex than that.

A good example of this difference is in stroke patients. If you have an injury to the part of your left brain that controls speech, you won’t be able to speak, but you can sing.

How interesting is that?

Your right brain is also where your “subconscious” mind is thought to reside. And the emotions that go with it too.

Essentially, the right brain is a mystery.

Michelangelo thought so too.

Recognise this painting? It’s called Creation of Adam. Painted by artist and sculptor Michelangelo.

If you look closely, God is depicted as arising from a shape that looks like the right hemisphere of the human brain.

The right cerebral hemisphere is where God lives!

Okay that’s a stretch, but essentially Michelangelo realised that there was some innate power in the right half of the brain that we don’t understand. Something that was God-like. Intangible and unable to be explored definitively.

And to a certain extent, that’s true. Even doctors and researchers today don’t fully understand the functionality of the right brain.

You can see it in emotions too. A pokerface is generated by your left brain. You can probably control that. You can master it with practice. But the small flicker of surprise in someone’s eyes that people catch, is your right brain displaying your true emotions.

It’s just really fascinating.

For me especially.

I’ve always wondered about my right brain. I feel like my subconscious mind controls a lot of emotion in my otherwise completely non-emotional personality.

I’ve mentioned this before. I don’t cry easily. I used to think this was a strength. My thoughts were always very analytical about any situation. I would think really hard about an issue then consciously come up with a conclusion and think to myself, Oh hey, I guess I’m fine! I’m not too bothered! I must be quite resilient!

Let’s all laugh together.

My left brain is very put together apparently. But whenever there are big issues like this, my right brain starts processing the emotional stuff attached to those issues.

A few years back I had a big emotional situation with my family. I was however, the most seemingly put together person. I was comforting all my family members and I was chuffed about being so stable.

But then in the weeks, months that followed, I realised that I was crying more often about tiny things like getting a low score on a high school physics test, or burning my toast on a day when I was late to get somewhere, etc.

My right brain controls that I think. While my left brain says I don’t give no damns, my right brain opens the floodgates when I least expect it.

Happened recently too. A few days of discussions with someone, and I was analysing the situation and realising what was wrong with it. But every time I thought about the issue itself, I wasn’t too bothered.

However, I ended up locking myself in a bathroom and crying for 20 minutes for something very small, the next day.

I realised that the small thing wasn’t what I was upset about. Somewhere in my brain, the bigger issues were stockpiling emotions and letting them out when obviously small things came up.

Does that kind of sound like my brain is messed up? Hmm. A little. I think my right brain is just really powerful. More than I know how to control. I would like to learn how though.

I’m fine by the way… Until my right brain decides to release, that is.

I just think it’s really interesting.